Leaf from an Antiphonal

Bolognese Illuminator of the First Style

about 1265

Tempera colors, gold, and ink, Tempera Colors, Ink

J. Paul Getty Museum

An illuminated manuscript page features musical notation and a decorative initial. The initial contains a scene depicting a procession of figures, some in religious attire, surrounding a bier with a figure lying on it. Above this scene, two figures are shown in a smaller compartment. This illuminated initial depicts the death of Saint Dominic Guzman, who was the founder of the Dominican Order, one of the most influential monastic groups of the later Middle Ages. The scene was partly inspired by the accounts of a vision experienced by a Dominican friar named Fra Guala de Brecia (1180-1244). In the vision, Fra Guala saw Dominic ascending into heaven on a ladder held by Christ and the Virgin Mary. Beneath this scene, clergy and friars perform funeral rites over the saint's body. Nearby, the poor and infirm gather, hoping to benefit from the saint's relics. These figures did not feature in Fra Guala's vision, nor ar